Cactus-apple vs Golden Prickly-pear

Opuntia engelmannii compared with Opuntia aurea

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Cactus-apple	Golden Prickly-pear
Kingdom same	Plantae (Pflanzen)	Plantae (Pflanzen)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order same	Caryophyllales (Nelkenartige)	Caryophyllales (Nelkenartige)
Family same	Cactaceae	Cactaceae
Genus same	Opuntia	Opuntia
Species	Opuntia engelmannii	Opuntia aurea

Evolutionary Relationship

Cactus-apple and Golden Prickly-pear share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Opuntia.

Conservation Status

Cactus-apple

LC — Least Concern

Golden Prickly-pear

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Cactus-apple	Golden Prickly-pear
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Cactus-apple

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (5 countries), Europe (4 countries), and Oceania and the Pacific (Australia).

Golden Prickly-pear

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Cactus-apple

The Cactus-apple (Opuntia engelmannii) is a species in the genus Opuntia. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Inhabits tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm.